A few newbie questions

coinnut86

Hey I have never used a metal detector, but I always thought it would be fun... I have a few questions
Where can I get a cheap, but decent metal detector?
Where would I have best luck in finding coins?
Do I have to get permission to dig around rivers or lakes?

I may have a few more questions as people reply to this thread
Thanks for your help in advance
Coinnut86

Lamborghini518

Where can I get a cheap, but decent metal detector?


You don't want to get one that's very cheap. You want one between $200-$400 for a beginner detector. You can get good deals at Kellyco You can usually knock $50-$100 off the MSRP. When I say get one between $200-$400, I mean the MSRP, not sale prices.

Where would I have best luck in finding coins?


You can find coins all over. Beaches, front/backyards, parks, and many more. But that can't be the only thing you want to use it for, is it. I mean there's relic hunting, cache hunting, water hunting, ore hunting, and many more in addition to coinshooting.

Do I have to get permission to dig around rivers or lakes?


Sometimes yes and sometimes no. All depends on who or what owns the property. If it's part of a park, up here in NY we need a licence. It's $20 a year, just another way the government tries to get money. They have all these rediculous rules too. They say you can't have a digging tool bigger than the specified mesurments. I don't have it at the top of my mind though. They say that anything worth over $20, you have to turn in to the park police, and whatnot. (I don't know how they think we are going to know the value at that moment. We have to get it appraised. But I might as well take advantage of that because I can leave with something worth $1000, and they won't know the difference. But I have yet to hunt a park. It all depends on the rules on the area of the spot you want to hunt. But your limiting yourself again. You've got to get permission for places other than lakes and rivers too.